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Slice of Life Story Day 17 An Irish Connection

It’s St Patrick’s Day and Irish music is
flowing through our house. Both Vicki and I have ancestral links to Ireland
and the music and the literature have been a thread in our lives. We have been
fortunate enough to visit Ireland
on two occasions and as the music rings in my ears, thoughts of those visits
are revived.

I particularly
recall an evening in Dingle. County Kerry, Ireland The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits facing the Atlantic Ocean
about 71 km. northwest of Killarney. That night, we went in search of music…

Down
by the harbour area we were lured into Murphy’s Pub by strains of traditional
Irish music played by a duo aptly named ‘Shenanigans’ They lured us like the
legendary sirens. For more than two
hours they entertained the patrons of this crowded establishment with non stop
renditions of well known songs. The singer played guitar and provided the
banter. His partner sat astride a stool and caressed the living daylights out of
a small accordion. He became almost trance like as he immersed himself in the
lilting energy of the music. We found ourselves swept away by the playing of
their hypnotic jigs and reels. Round and round again went the music. “How does
he know when to stop?” whispered Vicki. There we were perched on tiny stools to
the side of the players. It was a dream come true.

The pub was packed with an
international audience. Men, women and children of all ages united for a brief
time by the power of music. The Guinness flowed, hands clapped, feet tapped and
hearts were lightened by the music in that small pub in Dingle. We drank a few
easy pints of ale before strolling back to our lodgings through the cold, damp
Dingle night. We felt well pleased with our evening in that remote little
place.

Next
morning we strolled the streets to capture happy snaps, trapping our memories
in photographs. We passed Murphy’s Pub and thought of the previous night’s
music and I swear I could still hear it…

I love your wife's question "how does he know when to stop?" This makes me nostalgic for better than the large tv's of the sports bars in America. The music is so inviting to imagine. We spent time in eastern Europe once and loved that some sang in the taverns. Thanks for the memory!

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Another school year is on the horizon in Australia...To assist teachers launching writing in their classrooms in the early days of the new school year, I offer the following support. Hope you find these ideas helpful in commencing your writing program in 2018.

My sincere hope for this year, is for student writers to encounter teachers who are focused on how to write, rather than what to write. In order for this to occur, teachers of writing must be prepared to commit to being writers too. Writing alongside your students sends a vital message regarding the importance of being someone who chooses to write, and sees value in such acts. it will immediately elevate writing in the minds of impressionable, curious learners. I urge you to be bold and brave. Become the risk taker you want your students to be.

I can say this with full confidence; every teacher possesses the potential to be the most influential writing mentor students will encounter in any school year.

To prepare for the writing that will emerge during the year we need to teach young writers how to find great ideas for writing lying deep inside themselves, before writing about them with focus. We need young writers to think deeply about what they are writing down. We want them to write about the things that matter most to them, -those things closest to the heart.

Encourage young writers to REREAD their initial work efforts to see if they can add more information for their reading audience.

Possible Teaching Points Upon Which to Focus:

•Writers make lists of important memories, people, places which could become story topics.

•Writers often sketch important memories, people, places which could spark an idea for a writing piece. They collect artifacts and ephemera to further stimulate their thinking.

•Writers get ideas for writing from reading lots of books. Books similar in genre/mode to what they are wishing to write.

Writing What You ReadI am acutely aware what I read influences what I write. With that thought at the front of my thoughts today, I find myself reflecting on my summer reading.

It just so happens that during the summer I was fortunate enough to receive two poetry books as gifts and managed to find three more, I purchased myself. All in all it was a rather eclectic collection of poems, to say the least. That fact just added to the appeal.

A Name Means Everything From my study I often hear one of our neighbours calling her dogs in the forlorn hope that they will obey her commands.

Ava and Theo, her two strong willed Pugs regularly pay her no mind. They are her untamed babies, wild and willful. Despite her numerous pleas for compliance they continue to wander and scamper off in directions of their own choosing. ‘Theo, come back now!’ ‘Ava, Ava, no!’ ‘Ava, Theo, come here, right now!’ Those defiant little dogs feign deafness and snuffle away, only returning when good and ready. The pugly truth is they are quite naughty.

I chuckle each time I hear the plaintive cries. Those dogs have the coolest names though. Theo and Ava. With names like that I feel they should be a geriatric couple defying the dimming of their days with age inappropriate behaviour, rather than two tiny Pug dogs. I wonder where those doggy names originated? I’m sure there’s a story there...

Returning ToSpine Poetry Because it is Friday. Poetry is in order. Poetry is always in order, but particularly as the working week ends. I welcome it like wine on the weekend.

To try this poetry idea I grabbed a plentiful supply of books. I went to my personal library, scanned the shelves for suitable titles before arranging them in an order I felt provided some cohesive flow of ideas. This provides some spine splendid viewing fun. It's word play. Spine time. Something all writers need to indulge in, from time to time.

When I was satisfied with the order, I photographed my creations.

Always an easy, fun way to engage young poets, and more experienced poets too, in creating words of wonder and delight.

The top one is brand new. Inspired by some poetry titles in my collection. It has just emerged from the Poet's oven. The other two are earlier creations, re-presented for your viewing/reading pleasure.

People who write get to live life twice - in the moment and in retrospect. That's what sets writers and poets apart. I rarely go anywhere, or do anything without the shadow of my writing self being part of the adventure. Every experience provides opportunities to harvest writing ideas. It is a lens through which to view the limitless possibilities of the moment. I look forward to your responses, feedback and ideas.